Method of delivering liquid.



G. L. BASTIAN. METHOD or DELIVERING LIQUID.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.6, 1906.

934,956, Patented Sept. 21. 1909.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

G. L. BASTIAN'.

METHOD OF DELIVERING LIQUID. APPLICATION FILED owe, 1906.

Patented Sept. 21, 1909.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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G. L. BASTIAN.

' METHOD 'OF DELIVERING LIQUID.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.6, 1906.

Patented Se t. 21, 1909.

8 SHEBTSSHEET 3.

1 U TED S WE Owe CHARLES L. BASTIAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TOBOTTLERS MACHINERY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ACORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

METHOD OF DELIVERING LIQUID.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 21, 1999.

Original application filed. December 1, 1905, Serial No. 289,888.Divided and. this application filed October 6,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES L. BASTIAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Methods of Delivering Liquid, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This is a division of my application No. 289,888 filed December 1, 1905.

This invention relates to an improved method of delivering liquid whichis especially adapted for breweries and bottling establishments, itsobject being to deliver the liquid to the head of a filling machine or aracking machine at all times according to certain predeterminedconditions of pressure and thereby avoid undue agitation of the liquidwhich tends to release the contained and enriching gases and to producefoaming which is highly objectionable.

With this object in view my invention contemplates the automaticregulation of pressure in the supply vat to compensate for the loss ofpressure consequent upon the lowering of the level of the liquidtherein.

In the accompanying drawings of my invention Figure 1 is a diagrammaticview showing the invention embodied in a com-- plete pipe line system.Fig. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the invention. Fig. 3 is asectional View of the regulating valve. Fig. 4 is a view, partly insection, illustrating another embodiment of the invention.

In the ordinary filling system the beer is stored in bonded vats A onthe floor below the filling machine B and the racking machine C and itis forced into the heads 6, c of these machines by air pressure which issomewhat in excess of the pressure required to raise the liquid to saidheads. A main liquid inlet pipe D is provided with a valved branch (Ztapping each vat near its bottom and a main liquid outlet pipe E issimilarly provided with a valved branch 6 tapped to the bottom of eachvat and valved branches 6 connected to the heads of the filling andracking machines. A main air inlet pipe F has a valved branch fconnected to the top of each vat.

The system thus far described is one commonly employed and it has beencustomary to increase the pressure in the vat once or twice during thefillingoperation for the purpose of providing su cient pressure todeliver the liquid from the vat to the head of the filling or rackingmachine. This system is open to all of the objections of a non-automatic system and furthermore it fails to provide a constant compensationfor the loss of pressure due to the lowering of the level of the liquidin the vat and the result has been that the liquid is delivered to thehead under varying conditions which tend to produce foaming andotherwise seriously interfere With the filling operation. Forillustration, assuming that the filling machine is located about twelvefeet above the supply vat and the latter has a capacity of 100 barrelsand contains initially 8O barrels of beer. If an excess pressure of twopounds is provided in the head of the filling machine, an initial airpressure of about ten pounds will be required in the vat. It will bereadily understood that the pressure in the vat will decrease as theliquid is drawn off and delivered to the head and the interruption tothe evenness of flow thereby produced will be increased rather thanavoided by the periodical increase of pressure. In fact it is the commonoccurrence that when the air pressure in the tank is thus periodicallyincreased the beer will be so greatly agitated for a while as to causefoaming and much trouble in the filling operation. This unevenness ofHow will be wholly overcome by automatically in creasing the airpressure in the vat: to constantly compensate for the loss of pressuredue to the withdrawal of the liquid. I have accomplished this automaticregulation of the pressure in the vat by providing a regulating valve Gin the branch air pipe to each vat, this valve being operated andcontrolled by the pressure of the liquid. In Fig. 1 the regulating valveis located in the branch liquid outlet pipe between the vat and theshut-off valve 1; in Fig. 2 the regulating valve is located in thebranch outlet pipe on the delivery side of the shut-off valve; in Fig. 4the regulating valve is mounted directly on the vat close to the bottomthereof.

The regulating valve is illustrated in Fig. 3 and comprises a valve itcarried by a stem 72, and normally held by a spring J away from its seat7' in the casting j. A diaphragm K is clamped between the skeleton frameis and the base it" and said base is shaped to provide a chamber Lbeneath the diaphragm and it has a nipple Z which is screw-threaded intothe branch liquid outlet pipe 6, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or into thevat, as shown in Fig. 4. The tension of the spring may be adjusted by athreaded ring M operating on the skeleton frame against arms mprojecting outwardly from the plate am against which the spring abuts. Astop N limits the movement of the valve under the influence of thespring. I make no claim in this application to the construction of thisvalve as the same forms the subject matter of an application No. 289,893filed Dec. 1, 1905.

In the embodiments of the inventions illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 thespring will hold the valve it normally unseated while the valve I isshut off and there is no pressure in the outlet pipe 6. At this time thepressure in the vat will be of that degree previously determined asnecessary to produce a proper flow of the liquid into the head of thefilling machine when the valve I is first opened. l Vhen this valve I isopened the liquid will flow into the pipe 6 and to the head and alsothrough the nipple Z into the chamber Land the pressure of the liquidwill be suflicient to overcome the tension of the spring and seat thevalve h to shut off the air supply. As the level of the liquid in thevat lowers and the pressure correspondingly decreases the spring willopen the valve h to admit more air pressure into the vat to compensatefor the loss of pressure due to the drawing off of liquid from the vat.This operation is entirely automatic in action and is repeated asconditions require to constantly maintain in the vat a sufficientpressure to deliver the liquid to the head of the filling machine underthe predetermined conditions.

In the embodiments of the invention illustrated in Fig. 4c the valveoperates in the same automatic manner heretofore described except thatthe pressure within the vat will hold the valve it normally seated. Anyother suitable regulating valve may be employed and it may be located inany position where it will operate to automatically control the airsupply to constantly maintain the required pressure in the vat.

The apparatus heretofore described for carrying out my improved systemforms the subject matter of my application No. 289,888

herein before mentioned and is not claimed herein. It will be understoodthat any other apparatus suit-able for the purpose may be employedinstead of those forms illustrated ing beer from a supply vat to thehead of a filling or racking machine at a constant pressure and withevenness of flow during the filling operation to avoid agitation andfoaming, which method consists in providing an initial air pressureabove the beer in the vat which, together with the weight of; the

beer, is suflicient to deliver the beer from the bottom of the vat at apredetermined pressure to the head, and then increasing the air pressureabove the beer in the vat relatively to the lowering of the level of thebeer by the pressure of the beer outside of the vat and withoutdisturbing the beer to'coinpensate for the loss of pressure due to thewithdrawal of beer from the vat, whereby to deliver all the beer in thevat to the head of the filling or racking machine at the same pressureand without the loss of gas.

2. The method herein described of delivering beer from a supply vat tothe head of a filling or racking machine at a constant pressure and withevenness of flow during the filling operation to avoid agitation andfoaming, which method consists in providing an initial air pressureabove the beer in the vat which, together with the weight of the beer,is sufiicient to deliver the beer from the bottom of the vat at apredetermined pres sure to the head, and then increasing the airpressure above the beer in the vat relatively to the lowering of thelevel of the beer by the pressure of the beer outside of the vat withoutdisturbing the beer and controlling said increase of air pressure by thepressure of the beer to compensate for the loss of pres sure due to thewithdrawal of beer from the vat, whereby to deliver all the beer in thevat to the head of the filling or racking machine at the same pressureand without loss of gas.

CHARLES L. BASTIAN. lVitnesses M. A. Kinnm, M. 0. BELT.

